CLASS PISCES 



465 



fastened together with threads secreted by a gland in the male. 

 The female lays eggs in the nest; the male then enters and 

 fertilizes them, after which he guards them from intruders. 



--I.C 



FIG. 397. The pipe-fish, Syngnathus acus. (From Lankester's Treatise, 



after Giinther.) 



Family SYNGNATHID.E. - - The Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses. 

 The pipe-fishes (Fig. 397) are extremely thin, with a tubular 

 snout, abbreviated fins, and a covering of 

 bony armor. Their food is captured by in- 

 serting the snout into the cavities in sponges 

 and corals, and by picking off minute ani- 

 mals from the branches of seaweeds. The 

 sea-horses (Fig. 398) are small species that 

 do not look much like fish, the head remind- 

 ing one of the head of a horse. They 

 swim by means of the dorsal fin, hold- 

 ing themselves in a vertical position as in 

 Figure 398. They cling to objects with 

 their prehensile tail. The eggs are carried 

 in a brood pouch (mp) of the male until 

 they hatch. 



Family SERRANID.E. - - The Sea-basses. 

 This is a large family containing over four 

 hundred species, mostly marine. The white 

 lake bass, Roccus chrysops, is a fresh-water 

 species of the Great Lakes region. The 



FIG. 398. Thesea- 



!' n e, Hippocampus 

 Kill I nlalus, male. 

 a, anus; b.a, branchial 

 aperture; m.p, brood- 

 pouch. (From the 

 Cambridge Natural 

 History.) 



2 H 



